Soom Problem... fantasy parts arrived with paint chipped

That's horrible, I would demand a new pair of "sanded" and "well painted" legs!

 

Well, I can't say anything useful about painting finishes, but I'm pretty sure that "full body brushing" does not include sanding. Doll companies rarely offer sanding services, and they do paint on an unsanded surface. I'm really sorry though that you are so disappointed...

 

Other than the paint rubbing a little around the joint, I can't see the problems.

 

Very few dolls will sand seams... they generally consider seams to be an acceptable defect.

The finish chipping... seems a little unreasonable, though, it would chip at that joint even if it was sealed.

I hope they'll do something for you, at least.

 

Sanding service with Soom is extra; I had it done on my two MA gals, so it doesn't come with body brushing there. Not helpful to know now, I know, but the link for it is here if you need to request it in the future: http://www.dollsoom.com/shop/step1.php?number=1713 The pricing seems to depend on doll size.

 

most of the companies don't sand due to the time it takes to do it...and as far as the chipping...that is going to happen whether it was sealed or not..it is a joint and the parts rub together so the paint will chip.
I'd say the paint job is quite nice otherwise..but anytime you paint in the area of a joint, its going to rub off or chip.

 

Awww that is sad to see and I learned after my first lati that those seams can be the norm I do wish theyd sand them too cause geesh thats a hefty pricetag for some inconsistencies!

 

I don't see a problem with the seam lines either- that's to be expected. Also, I doubt they could do anything about the chipping around the joints, that is also going to happen no matter what.

I honestly wouldn't be concerned- just seal the legs with a couple more coats of MSC and you should be fine.

 

Unless it actually says in the description that the seams will be sanded, you shouldn't expect them to be sanded. Most dolls by default have seams and you must pay extra to have them removed. Perhaps they could have coated the parts more so it would be less inclined to chip, but because it's a joint we're talking about even that wouldn't be a perfect solution. The chipping would be inevitable.

 

In the pictures the paint is chipped in places where there isn't even a joint. I would be upset about this as well. I doubt there is anything you can do though, besides just try to touch it up yourself and coat over the legs again.

 

I'm sorry about your Beryl and the problems you're having, however I don't think "demanding" anything is going to help. It's doubtful that SOOM is going to send you a whole new set of legs just because the paint is chipped in a few places. As for seam sanding, you have to order that specially. It's not included in the body-brushing. If you did order it and it arrived as such you should mention it to SOOM. You've done the right thing so far by contacting them. Good Luck and please keep us posted.

 

I've got the same problem - but I've painted the legs myself. And sealed it. But it also happens to my Beryl that the color spalls. 'Til now, I don't have any idea how to fix it.

 

I painted an MSD entirely grey with model paint, and my best advice, if they don't send you another pair of legs, is to unstring the legs, touch it up each part individually, and seal each part with at least 4 coats of MSC, putting it on heavy enough to thoroughly coat, but not so heavy as to cause drips, and letting each layer dry completely before moving on to the next. I sprayed most heavily at the joints. In four years, I've had to touch him up twice, but generally, the paint stays put.

 

You can also suede the joints to protect the paint a little bit. It isn't a cure all, but it does help.

 

Soom offer a seperate sanding service starting at $30 (it's $60 for a super gem) http://www.dollsoom.com/shop/step1.php?number=1713
If you look at the promo pics of Beryl her legs haven't been sanded. You can see a seamline above her left knee on the first full body shot of her, though the seams can be seen more on the promos of Sard.

 

It is a real shame that there are these problems with your Beryl's finish and I can understand you feeling unhappy. It is a hell of a lot to spend on a doll and then not be satisfied with the finish that you have paid extra for.
I hope that Soom will understand your disappointment and that you can get the problems rectified.

 

It really sucks that your Beryl arrived with chips. My fiance's Beryl arrived with 2 right arms (he ordered her blank), so I also believe that they were rushing to get orders out and were a bit careless.

Something that's completely blushed like that could easily chip, even when sealed with coats of MSC...especially at the joints. But, they should have packed the doll in a way where the painted joints were protected between the time they finish blushing the doll and packing up the doll to be shipped. Maybe like with a thin circle of foam or something where each blushed joint meets. The full set doll was expensive enough to expect some extra protection during packing and shipping.

 

Unfortunately I think that this kind of thing is going to be pretty much unavoidable with the way Beryl's legs work.
I've had mine done for a month-ish now (not by Soom) and she's starting to get some major chips in the joint where her hoof attaches to the lower leg, and due to the massive amount of wear this area gets I'm not sure you could put anything on there which would stop it from happening altogether.

Anyway, I think even if you got it redone it's going to keep happening, unless someone finds some truly magical stuff to coat the blushing with, as MSC certainly doesn't stop it.

 

I don't think hot glue sueding is the best option for this (to prevent/deter chipping at the joints), I would recommend pliver for the joints (or stickyback-moleskin as a non-organic option) which is softer.

 

my Beryl also arrived with the Brushing/Paint a little chipped on one joint, it's a little dissapointing but i figured that more of this is going to happen with time so that's ok. still i didn't expect it to already arrive with a chip.
i have emailed Soom, as i always email to thank for a doll when it has arrived, and i sent them pictures of her thanking them for a gorgeous doll (and i really think she is gorgeous and perfect except for that chip) and then i just mentioned the chip and included a pic of it aswell.
i just thought i want to let them know, but as it isn't so big i can live with it.

this pic is a little unsharp but you can still see it here:



even so i think her blushing is otherwise gorgeous, i just hope i will be able to keep it that way.

oh and by the way she was wrapped very well, each part of the lower legs was completely wrapped in plastic wrapping even over the joint and in till the elastic, so they did really wrap the hoof parts carefully, it's just that this chip was there before the wrapping happened i guess, as i guess were yours Arianne.

i agree with others that due to so many orders Soom might have rushed it a little wanting to get the orders out.

 

Hmmm... Anyone else have problems? I was wondering if it was going to be a problem blushing around the joints like that... I thought it might have been a safer idea to keep it light, so if rubbing did occur, it wouldn't be so obvious.

I was about to order a Sard with blushing, now I wonder if I should just get him unpainted and then I could sand and blush in areas not close to the joints...?!?

 

I don't have a Beryl or a Sard, but I ordered my Elfdoll Red through Soom and I had him fully blushed. He came to me with a little of his blushing chipped away, too. I wasn't too annoyed though; I tend to be fairly active with my dolls anyway, it was bound to happen. I think it's pretty much inevidable.

 

So you still think it was worth it get buy the blushing? How much of him was blushed? And where did he chip? --Just curious!

 

The Deneb I ordered was blushed (I had her sanded also) and some of the tight joints are a tiny bit shiny where it rubs, but the blushing color is very close to the resin color, so it's destined to not show quite so much. I can see it if I stick my nose up her armpit and squint, for instance, but not otherwise, and it isn't something I notice from arm's length.

Maybe that's the issue, that the change hadn't been noticed before? Something like this is nowhere near as visible on a flesh pink resin with slightly darker flesh pink blushing, but it's noticeable on the cream white with much darker colors. If they hadn't done something with such a dramatic color difference before, the effect might not have been seen or something?

 

Not just the joints will rub away. When you pick up Beryl (and I'm sure a similar thing will happen with Sard), the hooves naturally touch each other, causing a light scuffing of the inside of the hooves.

 

Wow! That's nice customer service!!! 'Glad to know about it! (and happy for you, of course!)

 

OK, I'm officially furious.

I was waiting for Soom Beryl for almost 2,5 month to arrive- they were changing the delivery date twice without informing me about it. Today, about one hour ago she finally arrived and I was so happy she is finally here. It is my hubbys 1'st dollfie and we just couldn't wait to unpack her.

Unfortunatelly, after opening the box I got unpleasant surprise. The body brushing was destroyed! I'm adding photos taken seweral minutes ago below. The worst part is her legs, where are ugly missing paint parts and her joints. It seems, that SOOM haven't mr.Super Clear'ed her AT ALL! Sure, they have bubble wraped her and all, but it didn't help. The missing paint looks just awfoul on her white skin.

I really don't know what to do now. I was waiting for this doll SO LONG and such a dissapointment. I really can't understant how can they not protect their dolls. I paid over 1100$ for this doll and for that anound of my hard earned money I really CAN NOT accept something like this. There are even finger prints all over the brush! The body brushing cost me 140$ and it isn't worth even half of it. Even unprofessional make-up begginer wouldn't do something as horrible as that.

I have written to SOOM and waiting for their reply. Please keep this in mind and watch for the body brushing they offer. The serviece is just unacceptable.

Sorry for the bad quality of some of the photos, but my hand's were shaking so badly....

ech... marti













you can find more photos here:
http://marti.presents.pl/12/pictures.html

 

Wow, those fingerprints do look really bad -- like someone was rushing through the job and couldn't wait for the paint to dry. I hope that SOOM resolves this for you.

 

I really hope that also. Beryl is really amazing doll and I love her now that all the furious passed, but those legs... someone nead to paint it over

 

I think the pictures in the opening post showed Beryl with more damage, IMO. Aside from the finger print, which I think is a rather embarrassing mistake.

Anyways, I'm sure SOOM will repaint it for you - they did offer it to some other people.

 

Eww. Why would a company even design a doll in which the natural friction of the joints will take off paint before the doll is even unpackaged?? I was so sad when this doll sold out and I couldn't get her, but honestly, this convinces me it wasn't worth all that money.

 

I am so sorry about your doll. She is one of my favorites. She is one of the first dolls my friend showed me online. I absolutely love her. I don't know anything about fixing dolls, as I am new. That being said you can go a long way by sending an email with photos. Once that is done if you don't get a response, email again. I have been stalking J Planning with a problem with on of my pullips (face staining from factory). I know it is just a matter of time before they get sick of me and fix the problem. I think if you explain you just want her legs fixed and not a refund or new doll they will be understanding. Send those last photos they really show the defects, enough that I cringed alittle. Congrats and condolences at the same time. I cannot wait to see pics of her repaired. Good luck, sending best wishes your way~

 

It's not the design that is at fault but the paint job. ALL dolls have leg joints where natural friction will take off the paint from blushing. But it seems these dolls were very poorly painted and probably not even coated. I would still love to have a Beryl or Sard, I'd just never pay for the body blushing that's all. I'd blush it and coat it myself.

Though from the looks of things it seems Soom has learned its lesson and is being more careful with the painting. You might want to coat the legs again Arianne02, just in case.

 

Arianne02, I'm so happy to hear that your issue was resolved, and that you received your legs back in a timely manner. ^_~ I agree though, if you're able, I would give your new legs an extra coat of MSC just for extra protection.

I haven't heard word on my fullset Beryl yet (it's been a looong wait) but I'm hoping it's because of the problems they've been having with the paint jobs, that they are taking their time on the remaining orders *keeping fingers crossed*

 

Could you post pics of the re-blushed legs please ?
Thank you

 

Same with my Beryl D: I ordered her with a full body blush and as soon as I took her out and started to even move her paint chipped from the joints : |
as for the seamlines I didn't notice that they were unfinished~~ they seemed fine to me c:

I used clear nailvarnish on the joints and on the hooves and as shiny as it looks I would have hoped it would protect her joints. lol no good >>;; so I might do the same as a few other people when I actually get her for my birthday and dismantle the legs. Sealing them seems to be a good idea~~

 

hello!

i'm hardly on here and even if i am, i lurk, but a friend of mine has suggested i post in here since i've received my Beryl today and... well. words fail me. and not because i've been told that they'd ship my doll mid-july but only really shipped her when i asked a couple of days ago, whether they sent her off already.

this is a summary of the message i sent to Soom:

this is the first time i've ever ordered anything from Soom but seriously.. if this issue doesn't get resolved, it'll be the last time.

so.. how many of you who ordered a Berly are actually 100% pleased with her?! all i heard are complaints so far.

 

Crap...

I hope they don't do a light blushing on mine. I'm willing to risk the chips for the dark.

 

that yellow blushing looks really bad, especially on the arms and hands. No kidding about a completely different color, it's totally wrong! I hope they fix it. It's too yellow.

 

That is what I was talking about, actually; by design I meant the concept and painting, not the joint mechanisms.

I dyed a doll twice and this problem was present to some degree both times; my coated blushing jobs also come off over time. A company who does this kind of doll should know better than to just paint the surface, whether it is coated afterwards or not. Probably a combination of colored resin and some kind of enamel-type paint. Of course opinion may vary but if I'm about to shell out that kind of money, I'd want to at least get a good year or two of entertainment out of this doll.

And that yellow paint job is just AWFUL

 

I can see that the yellow cast may be for the succubus fantasy effect, but it really is nasty looking, especially on her human feet. It looks like she has some kind of foot fungus! I hope they will fix it for you.

I didn't want to order Bix blushed as I was worried that his normal body parts would be blushed blue. Seeing these poor Beryls I'm glad I didn't! It is nice to hear that Soom is fixing them, though. Hopefully it will be a learning experience for them and future fantasy dolls' blushing will be more carefully thought out and protected.

 

I also got a Beryl with this lighter, yellow blushing and I still don't know whether I like it or not. I do like her and every else, but the yellow blushing...I’m quite unsure about it. On one hand I like it that the blushing is lighter than the default, but the yellow coloring doesn’t really match, especially not with the colors of her face up (her face up is really, really fantastic, soom did a great job on that!). If the blushing was just less yellow and more in line with the rest, it would be perfect.

So, the yellow tone of the coloring is the only thing that I'm not completely happy with and the fact that they didn’t not inform us about changing the coloring of the blushing. It would have been real customer service if they had informed us and if they had given us the option to choose between the dark, default, or the lighter blushing.

I still don't know what's the best thing to do, since I quite knew to the hobby and Beryl is my first doll. Asking soom to redo the job, means sending her back but I'm not willing to do that. I have, however, no idea how I can fix the blushing myself.

 

exactly. it would have been nice to actually SEE the new blushing because then i'd have just ordered it without and sent the doll to someone else to do that for me. but opening the box and seeing a doll that basically looks like a banana in sunlight almost have me a heart-attack.

if they are willing to exchange the body i am totally willing to send her back i think. seeing her like this really breaks my heart.


edit:
oh, i got a reply from soom!

http://www.dollsoom.com/board/view....OARD3&choose2=&choose1=&pagenow=2&CB=&ID=9105

... is it just me or don't they really seem to grasp the problem?
anyway, i'll return her. i'll keep you updated on what's gonna happen now.

 

Ehhh...

I'm fixing to send in my final payment this month.

And with it... I'm going to request VERY specifically that they do the DARK blushing...

Because I'd rather deal with chipping than a yellow zombie doll.

 

yeah, i think that'd probably be better. if you don't mind the chipping of the paint all that much or don't play with her much anyway, i'd definitely request the dark blushing.

 

I think if they used Mr. Color then they would have less of a chipping problem since that paint cures really hard. It's not even water soluble so it's tough all ready. So if they used that brand plus several coats of MSC or ZPS, then there would be a lot less chipping. I don't think Mr. Color would rub off like that raw either. But if they simply put a few coats of spray it would be a lot better. My friend's beryl ended up getting yellow blushing for the body when I see they were trying to get a gold color. Her feet were gold while the rest of her was yellow. It looks like she yellowed...which is not a very good thing. Also her legs were painted a lot lighter so you don't notice the chips as much. I think with some shellac and spray it would be a lot better.

 

Sorry maybe a little OT but has anyone complain about blushing made by soom before?
Maybe it's just a blushing problem on beryl....
but it helps a lot to know if the usual soom blushing made on the other dolls came up a mess like this or it's just beryl.

 

I think they did get the problem, its just that the answer doesn't really help you. The thing is that face ups and blushing are hand done, and each one is going to be different. While they might try to match the picture, its not always going to be the same. I've seen three dolls with the same limited faceup before (of another company), and they all looked different. One had darker blushing, one was a slightly different colour, etc. If you send it back and request for it to be reblushed, it still might not be you expect it to be.

Also, those hooves need to be glossed rather heavily if you want them to not chip so easily. I know you've said you've had other dolls blushed, but I've found that areas that get handled a lot like feet and hands always scratch easily, while the other areas will stay perfect for ages.

 

i understand perfectly that since the blushing is hand-done, there's no way it will look like in the pictures- it'd be absolutely ridiculous to expect an artist to copy exactly the same blushing x times.
i've been following the conversation someone else had with Soom on their message board for a while and it was stated by Soom that the recently sent out dolls would have lighter blushing than in the promo pictures in order to improve the quality of the blushing so it's not like i was expecting my doll to look like the pictures on their homepage anyway. the problem i have with the doll is that it's yellow like a banana, not that it's not a 1:1 copy of the one in the promo pictures.
in the end, since the new and improved lighter blushing chips just as easily as the old one, nothing has changed except the color of the dolls and imho, that change was for the worse.

i'd have figured out a way to deal with an unblushed body and i'll probably figure out a way to deal with that yellow body too (and even if it means i have to remove and re-do the paint-job myself), it's just that i paid 140 dollars for a body-blushing that is absolutely inacceptable for several reasons and the very least i want to do is let Soom know about this.

i hope that made sense?

 

Forgive me because I know it's horrible to have a doll arrive in anything less than perfect condition, but your comment immediately started Brian in a banana suit playing in my brain.

I'm really surprised that anyone at Soom thought it was a good idea to send her out blushed like that. Obviously they're trying to keep the succubus aesthetic, but that's just reading as gangrene to me.

I think this actually happens to any doll that has blushing about the joints. What surprises me is that - from what people have posted - the paint job wasn't sealed with MSC. That just seems really... stupid. They probably could have saved themselves and those who ordered a lot of grief had they just coated the doll.

And yeah, I was also bemoaning that I missed her altogether, but now, not so much. She's a gorgeous girl, but the quality control on this release is alarming.

 

Yep that made sense. I agree it doesn't hurt to let Soom know about this, but I don't think they'll be able to really fix much of your problem besides the blushing it again so its not so yellow.

The doll is coated, its just in an area that touches a lot so it scuffs. My fiance prophetek got his Beryl's hooves blushed by a friend of ours and she coated it in MSC and it still scuffs (especially on the inner part of each leg, where the weight of the hooves knocks them together when you lift her. You have to actually hold her legs apart when you pick her up to avoid that). Even when the blushed hooves were sent back to us from her place the hooves had slight scuffed when she had restrung the doll. We could tell before we'd even bought her that things like this were going to happen, so we've accepted that we're going to have to touch her up from time to time.
So far I've found the only thing to reduce scuffs and chips is to gloss the hoof, which is what our friend did for us.


Also, something I noticed on the Beryl page which I think they have added as an afterthought after people's complaints, as I don't remember seeing it when we bought her:

* The doll pictured is a sample. Please understand the actual Face up and Body painting may vary the color and brush touch.
* Frequent movement of a ball jointed doll can rub or damage the 'Body painting'.
* We recommend the 'Body painting' option to the customers who want to keep the dolls for decoration.
*'Removing the seam¡¯ is not included to 'Body painting' option.

 

yeah, that one definitely wasn't there when i ordered her. *facepalm*

 

I remain surprised with how quickly the scuffs and chips happen(ed) with Beryl. Joint + blushing + movement = fading, scuffing, etc. on any doll, that's a given and most people accept it. Beryl's distinction is that it's happening right out of the box. That's a little too soon for my peace of mind.

Hmmm... makes me wonder just how many complaints they received?

 

hm makes me wonder if the bix arm is gonna have the same issues.